The data is the important thing here. Amazon is already hurting a lot of brick and mortar retailers, and has a ton of data on how people shop online. This move would give them more data on how people shop in stores. They could come out of this with a very complete view of consumers' shopping habits and spending patterns.

That's a good point, Bob. Maybe the reality is that banks already are marginal or secondary players in the payments eco-systems and are really not the players that are going to be disrupted/disintermediated by the likes of Amazon. Thanks for the feedback.

Good article and interesting point of view on the banks. I do view it however as more a target against Square and mobile payment providers. The banks are already at the back end of Amazon's food chain already as a processor and this does not change the dynamic much.

It does however represent a lost opportunity to get 1.75 to 2.75% in swipe fees by not having a competing product....

Yes, I have written befor eabout the potential of the Fire Phone as Amazon continues to be a payments innovator. The bottom line, with their built-in customer base, amazon has a great platform for payments.

And don't forget about the Amazon Fire Phone. While it's not yet clear whether or not it will be successful and make inroads against iPhone and Android, what is clear is that its capabilities have a strong focus on commerce. So one way or another Amazon definitely intends to be a player/disrupter in payments.